Governor for closure members



Oct. 29, 1935. w, MlLLER 2,019,085

GOVERNOR FOR CLOSURE MEMBERS Filed Dec. 23, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR.

Maw/7 /7/zz/e ATTORNEY.

Oct. 29, 1935. w 5. MlLLER 2,019,085

GOVERNOR FOR CLOSURE MEMBERS Filed Dec:' 23, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR.

Mam/7 5, M445 2 ATTORNEY.

Oct. 29, 1935. w. G. MILLER GOVERNOR FOR CLOSURE MEMBERS 3 Sheets-Sheet3 Filed Dec. 25, 1951 INVENTOR M1 Z/A/I /z 45,?

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ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 29, 1935 UNITED STATES PAT ENT OFFICE".

William G. Miller, Detroit, Mich., assignor to The R. C. Mahon Company,Detroit, Mich.,- a corporation of Michigan Application December 23,1931, Serial No. 582,890

6 Claims.

This invention relates to escapement governor mechanism for closuremembers and is more particularly adapted for use with rolling steel fireshutters and the principal object and feature of the invention is in theprovision of a device of this character which will automatically governthe speed of descent of the closure member to prevent injury to anyonewho might be caught beneath the lower edge of the door as it lowers.

Another object of the invention is in the provision of a closure memberprovided with an escapement governor for regulating the speed of descentof the door and latching means for holding the, door in its open orraised position and thermally controlled means whereby the latchmeans isdisengaged to permit lowering of the door in the presence of fire.

A still further object of the invention is in the provision of means forpositively disengaging the latching means to permit descent of the door.

These objects and theseveral novel features of the invention arehereinafter more fully described and claimed and the preferred form ofconstruction by which these objects are attained is shown in theaccompanying drawings in Which- Fig.,- 1 is an elevational viewofmyimproved door in-the closed position.

Fig.2 is a section taken on line 2--2 of Fig-.; 1. Fig.3 is a sectiontaken on line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of Fig.3. Fig.5 is an enlarged section taken on line 55 of Fig-.3.

Fig-.- 6 is a section taken on line 66 of Fig. 1. Referring to thedrawings, the shutteror door I is formed of a plurality of interlockingplates 2 the edges of the same being guided in the channels 3 secured tothe face of the wall 4 having the opening 5 therein adapted to be closedby the door I. A tube or pipe 6 has the spaced members 1 suitablysecured thereto and the upper edge of the door is suitably secured tothese respective members. The end plates 8 and 9 are secured to. theface of the wall 4 by means of the bolts I and the plate 8 is positionedadjacent one end of the pipe 6 while the plate 9 is positioned adjacentthe opposite end. They end of the pipe 6 adjacent the :end plate 9 hasthe bushing or bearing H pressed in one end thereof and is provided withthe longitudinally extending aperture the extremeouter end of the rodhasthe adjust-- ing wheel, l secured thereto by means of the pin IS. Theadjusting wheel I5 is formed with the spaced sockets ll and a pin I8carried bythe stationary bracket l9is positioned in one of the socketsand holds j the adjusting wheel from rotation.

The inner end of the rod I3 is bifurcated at to receive one end-of thespring 21, the same being heldin the bifurcation by means of the bolt22. The opposite end of the spring 2| is held by the bolt 23 extendingthrough the pipeli. 1

It will thus be seen that by removing the pin l8 and rotating theadjusting wheel l5 any desired tension may be set up in the spring 2iand then by placing the pin I8 in one-of the sockets I! the spring, 2|will be prevented from unwinding, 15 except as later described. The endof the pipe 6 adjacent the end plate 8 has the ring 24 pinned orotherwisesecured therein. A sleeve like member 25 is formed with theshoulder 26 which abuts the inner face of the ring 24. The intermediateportion of the sleeve is supported in the bearing 21 formed in the endplate 8 and the extreme outer end of the pipe has the adjusting wheel 28suitably secured thereto, the same being provided with a plurality ofsockets 29 in one of which the 25 pin 30 is inserted the same beingcarried-by the bracket? secured: to the end plate 8. The inner end ofthe sleeve 25is provided with a pin 32 to which one end of a spring 33is secured, the opposite end of the spring being secured to the ring 3034: secured to the rod 35, the rod extending through the sleeve 25 andthe outer end of the rod having the serrated disc 36 secured thereto.The disc 36 is provided on its periphery with the notches or serrations31 and on its outer face with the-socketsor pockets 38.

The, innerend of the shaft 35 is threaded at 39*to engage the nut 40 andthe washer 40' positioned in the squared recess 4| in the member 42 thesame being pinned or otherwise secured go in the pipe 6. It'will thus beseen that by re- I moving the pin-3llf;rom the: bracket 3| and thesocket 29 in whichit engages that the proper tension may be'placed onthe spring 33 by rotating the; adjusting wheel 28 and then by placingthe pin 30, in one of the sockets 29 the spring; 33 will be maintainedat its proper tension and that by inserting a tool in one of the pockets38 of oneof the discs 36 and then rotating the same the nut 40 may beproperly positioned on the threaded end 39 of the rod 35. A latchingmember 43' is provided with an end 44 of suitable shape to engage in oneof the notches 31 in the periphery of the disc 36 and the latchingmember isipivotally connected at 45 to a bar.

and the lower end of the latching member is formed with the enlargedweighted end 41 so that the end 44 is always in position to engage inone of the notches 31. The bar 46 is pivotally connected at 48 to theend plate 8. A member 49 is pivotally connected at 56 to .an ear 5!extending from the face of the end plate 8 and is provided with a lug orcam 52 engaging over the upper edge of the bar 46 and a portion I forengaging beneath the bar to hold the latch connected to the fusiblemember 60 the same being connected to the link 6| suitably secured tothe ceiling of the building. A weight 62 is positioned on the rod 54adjacent the end connected to the link 56. It will thus be seen that incase of fire that either or both of the fusible members 56 or 60 willfuse or melt and will permit the end of the bar 54 carrying the weight62 to drop down pivoting about the pivot 50. The lug or cam 52 willpress against the upper edge of the bar 46 and move the latching member43 downward so that the end 4| thereof will move out of engagementwiththe notches 31 and will permit the closure member to lower. A casingor cover 63 of cup-shaped form is pivotally connected on the, pin orstud 64 secured adjacent the upper edge of theend wall 8. The cover isprovided on its wall with a pair of spaced flanges 65 between which thepins 56, 61 and 68 extend. A pawl 69 is pivotally mounted upon the pin61 and is provided with a tapered'end 10 for engaging one of the notches31 and is further prov vided with the hooked portion H to which oneendof the spring 12 is attached, the opposite end of the spring beingattached to the pin 66.

' The pawl 69 is further formed with an extension 13 which is adapted tostrike against the pin 69 and limit the upward movement of the end 1!)of the pawl. The opposite side wall of thecover 63 is provided with apair of spaced flanges 80 between which the pins 8|, 82 and 83 extend. Apawl 84 is pivotally mounted upon the pin 82 and is provided with thetapered end 85 for engaging one of the notches 3'! in the disc 36. Aspring 86 has one end secured to the pin 8| and has its other endsecured to the hooked portion 81 of the pawl. The pawl is further formedwith the extension 88 which abuts the pin 83 and limits the downwardmovement of the tapered end 85. It will be understood, of course,

that'suitable apertures 89 will be provided in the side wall of thecover for permitting the respec- 'tive pawls 69 and 84 to extendtherethrough to engage the teeth in the disc 36 and the cover will befurther provided with an aperture through which the latching member 43extends.

The operation of this portion of the device is as follows: When eitherof the fusible members 56 or 68 are melted or fused the weight 62 willcause the rod 54 to drop down thereby disengaging the latching member 43from the disc and the spring 2 I- acting on the bolt 23 will causethe-disc 36 to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction or in thedirection of the arrow shown in Fig- 3 and the high point A of the discas will strike against the end 85 of the pawl 84 and will swing thecover member about the pivot 64.

The high point B will at this time move toward the end 16 of the pawl 69and will strike thereagainst and the cover 63 will be swung to the rightwhereupon the end 85 of the pawl 84 will engage in the notch C and whenthe high point D strikes against the end of the pawl the cover willagain be swung to the left and this continuous'cycle of operation willtake place until the shutter is completely lowered. The spring 33 willbe wound up as the door descends as the member '42 will be rotated withthe pipe 6 and will thread the nut 40 on the rod 35 until the nut 'jamsagainst the washer 4D in the bottom of the recess 4| as the ring 34 issecured to the rod and carries one end of the spring 33 while theopposite end of the spring is held by the stationary member 25. It willthus be noted that the shutter or door will lower relatively slow toprevent injury to anyone who-happens to be beneath the door as itdescends and likewise the door may be easily held at any point in itsdescent and when released is free to continue its downward movement."When the door is completely lowered and in the event anyone is trappedin the building it is only necessary to grasp the bottom of the door andraise the same a distance sufificient to pass therebeneath. a

From the foregoing description. it becomes evi- 80 dent that I haveprovided a novel and eiiicient escapement governor for closure memberswhich will automatically retard the speed of descent of the closuremember to prevent injury to anyone caught therebelow. '85 Havingthusfully described my invention, its utility and mode of operation,what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis 1. In a device of the character described, a to closure member, awinding drum therefor, an escapement governor for controllingthe speedof descent of the same comprising a serrated disc attached to the drum,a pivoted support, a pair of approximately oppositely disposed latchesfor alternately engaging the teeth of the disc on onp'osite sides,gravity actuated latching means for engaging the serrated disc toprevent rotation thereof and relieve the escapement governor frompressure engagement with the disc, thermally controlled means forholding the latching means in engagement with the serrated disc, saidmeans designed to release the latching means in the presence of fire toallow the latching means to fall by gravity under restraint of theescapement governor. 1 v V 2. In a device of the character described, aclosure member including a, roller, a. serrated disc attached to theroller, an escapementgovernor associated with the disc and positionedadjacent one edge of the closure membenior controlling the speed ofdescent of the closure member, gravity actuated latching means for engaging the serrated disc to prevent rotation thereof, thermallycontrolled means for holding the latching means in engagement with theserrated disc, said means designed to release thelatching means in thepresence of fire to allow the latching means to fall by gravity underrestraint of'the escapement governor, anda second latching means forassisting movement of the first latching means to its unlatchedposition.

3. In a device of the character'described, a closure member, a windingdrum therefor, an escapement governor including a serrated disc, 78'

an oscillating member, a pair of escapement pawls carried by theoscillating member and successively engaging the disc as the memberoscillates, means connecting the serrated disc to the winding drumwhereby rotation of the drum will rotate the disc, the escapement pawlsso arranged relative to the serrated disc as to govern the speed ofrotation of the same, a latch device normally engaging the disc toprevent rotation thereof, and thermally controlled means for holding thelatch in engagement with the disc.

4. The combination with a curtain receiving drum, a serrated elementdriven by the unwinding movement of the drum, an oscillating memberincluding a dog mounted therein to intermittently engage the serratedmember and permit interrupted descent of the curtain, a second dogadapted for engagement with the serrated element to hold the same fromrotation and relieve the oscillating member from pressure engagementtherewith, a weighted lever tending at all times to disengage the seconddog, and thermally controlled means for holding the said second dog inengagement with the serrated element to prevent rotation thereof.

5. The combination with a curtain receiving drum, a serrated elementdriven by the unwinding movement of the drum, a member freelyoscillatable at all times including a dog carried thereby tointermittently engage the serrated member and permit interrupted descentof the curtain, a pivoted lever, an additional dog pivotally mounted onsaid lever and movable thereby to engagement with the serrated element,a second pivoted lever tending by gravity to hold the first named leverwith the additional dog out of engagement with thetoothed element, andthermally controlled means for holding said second lever in position tomaintain the additional dog in engagement with the serrated element toprevent rotation thereof.

.6. In a device of the character described, a closure member, a windingdrum therefor, an escapement governor including a serrated disc, anoscillating member, and a pair of escapement pawls carried thereby,means connecting the serrated disc to the winding drum whereby rotationof the drum will impart movement to the disc, the escapement pawls beingso arranged relative to the serrated disc as to govern the speed of 20serrated disc, a cam engaging the latching means 25 and operable byrelease of the thermally controlled means to force the latching meansout of engagement with the serrated disc.

WILLIAM G. MIILER.

